Today you may carry a smart phone to help you calculate astrological charts while traveling. “For medieval physicians, the mnemic apparatus of choice was what is sometimes today known as a folding almanac or a belt book. There are thought to be just 29 such almanacs that have survived to the present day.”

The almanac was made using vellum, a tough paper made from an animal skin. It was folded, strung on a cord and hung from the belt. It was particularly useful for doctors as they made house calls. Read More from The Atlantic.

According to the ancients "Via Combusta" exerted a malefic influence, particularly for the Moon in one's natal chart.[1] Via Combusta is Latin for "the burning way" and generally refers to the first fifteen degrees of the sign of Scorpio.[2] Other astrologers have extended Via Combusta to include the last fifteen degrees of the sign of Libra and/or the entire sign of Scorpio.[3]

Modern astrologers have speculated that the negative influence of the signs of Libra and Scorpio, specified as Via Combusta, had its origins in antiquity when many of the malefic fixed stars were located in those two signs.[4]

Murder Mystery? In 2010, Tycho Brahe was dug up and reburied yet again in another attempt to discover whether he died from natural causes or was murdered. Among the many articles about this last search for answers, The crazy life and crazier death of Tycho Brahe, history's strangest astronomeris one of the more colorful. After samples were obtained, they re-buried Brahe on Nov. 18, 2010. Stuart Clark's website also includes an excerpt from the novel in which German mathematician Johannes Kepler learns a little more about Tycho's astronomical achievements.

The concept of Sect comes to us from Hellenistic times. It is a concept that fell out of use for many years, but is being rediscovered as more and more astrologers are re-examining ancient techniques. Sect can help you determine the the qualities of a planet, whether for good or ill, and its effect in the chart.

Depending on whether it is a daytime or nighttime chart, sect tells you which of the classical planets (Sun and Moon, and the planets Mercury through Saturn) have the upper hand. It also provides clues as to which planets will be more helpful or more problematic in the chart.